Let's take a minute my lovelies to talk about love. Sit for a minute and try to define love first of all. What is love? ... Hard to sum up isn't it? Dictionary.com says this: love: noun- 1. a profoundly tender, passionate affection for another person. 2. a feeling of warm personal attachment or deep affection, as for a parent, child, or friend. 3. sexual passion or desire. 4. a person toward whom love is felt; beloved person; sweetheart. 5. (used in direct address as a term of endearment, affection, or the like): Would you like to see a movie, love?6. a love affair; an intensely amorous incident; amour. 7. sexual intercourse; copulation. 8. ( initial capital letter) a personification of sexual affection, as Eros or Cupid. 9. affectionate concern for the well-being of others: the love of one's neighbor. 10. strong predilection, enthusiasm, or liking for anything: her love of books. 11. the object or thing so liked: The theater was her great love. 12. the benevolent affection of God for His creatures, or the reverent affection due from them to God. 13. Chiefly Tennis a score of zero; nothing. 14. a word formerly used in communications to represent the letter L. verb (used with object)- 15. to have love or affection for: All her pupils love her. 16. to have a profoundly tender, passionate affection for (another person). 17. to have a strong liking for; take great pleasure in: to love music. 18. to need or require; benefit greatly from: Plants love sunlight. 19. to embrace and kiss (someone), as a lover. 20. to have sexual intercourse with.

verb (used without object) 21. to have love or affection for another person; be in love.

Verb phrase 22. love up, to hug and cuddle: She loves him up every chance she gets.

Idioms 23. for love, a. out of affection or liking; for pleasure. b. without compensation; gratuitously: He took care of the poor for love. 24. for the love of, in consideration of; for the sake of: For the love of mercy, stop that noise. 25. in love, infused with or feeling deep affection or passion: a youth always in love. 26. in love with, feeling deep affection or passion for (a person, idea, occupation, etc.); enamored of: in love with the girl next door; in love with one's work. 27. make love, a. to embrace and kiss as lovers. b. to engage in sexual activity. 28. no love lost, dislike; animosity: There was no love lost between the two brothers.

How's that for a definition? Even the dictionary can make love clear cut and concise. I agree that there are a hundred plus different definitions for love. I love my family, and friends. I also love Disneyland and chocolate. Are those all the same kind of love? Of course not, but I believe they, and everything in between, are all different facets of, as Freddy Mercury put it, This thing called love. In one of my last blogs I talked about stories and the role they play in our lives. One of my favorite Broadway musicals, Aida, says that every story is a love story, that Every story, new or ancient bagatelle or work of art... all are tales of love at heart. I could go on and on with the songs, stories, poems etc that concern love, because it's true. Every story is a love story whether it's love of a thing, a person, love of power, love of an idea, or love of anything. Most religious have some doctrine in them somewhere about loving the others. It's the golden rule: Treat (love) others the way you want to be treated (loved). For my fellow Christians we learn from Jesus that we should love everyone, even those we consider to be our enemies. Love is the single greatest power in this world and the next. It's cliché because it's true. Why do you think all those old fairy tales talk about the power of true love? It's capable of defeating anything. At least, I believe it is. It is the one common basic programming in all humans no matter your race, color, creed, etc. We are human therefore we are programmed to love. We must love one another or die -W.H. Auden This all came into my mind after watching an episode of The Big Bang Theory. (If you don't watch it you should) The main character Leonard was sharing an intimate moment with his girlfriend, Penny, and he says "I love you." Rather than be happy and respond in kind, Penny becomes awkward and standoffish. Then, needless to say, by the end of the episode Penny has broken up with him because she doesn't love him back, at least not in the same way or as strongly. Common story I'm told. It's one of the big questions. When is it okay to say, "I love you"? Maybe I'm naive, but for me, it's always okay. To be in a committed relationship with someone is a facet of love. Does that mean it's your soul mate that you'll be with forever? Not necessarily, but that doesn't mean it isn't love. I've also been avidly following Downton Abbey, a supremely superb show and I highly recommend it. Two of the main characters, Lady Mary Crawley and Matthew Crawley, seem to never be on the same page. At first they have animosity towards each other, which turns into indifference and then Matthew comes to realize he has true feelings for Mary and proposes to her. She refuses. He moves on and finds another woman whom he makes his fiancé and it's then Mary realizes she does love Matthew, that she may have loved him all a long, much longer than she realized. However, now he's attached to someone else. So, back and forth they go and we've yet to find out where they end up. My point is, to wonder how we humans manage to make such a mess of something that is in our makeup from birth as an essential need. Why does it have to be so complicated, so hard? Mayhap I've read too many fairy stories and I'm naive, but for me love should be the one thing that's easy in this world. It's the one thing that ties us all together. Why then do we let it get muddied by other emotions like pride of fear, or things like society or politics or anything else? True love conquers all. Everything else is meaningless. So if you love someone then say it. Say it now. Say it every day. Don't let them wonder how you feel. Don't say tomorrow. You may not have tomorrow and then what? There are a great many things in this world that I'm afraid of. Mostly being alone forever, though, I'm not afraid to be alone-if that makes sense. I am quite comfortable living and doing things on my own. I'm afraid of spiders, and other creepy crawlies, of talking to strangers, of talking on the phone, but I'm not afraid to love. I love fearlessly and fiercely in my own quiet way. It sounds like an oxymoron but I'm sort of a walking contradiction. Has it gotten my heart bruised and broken even? Yeah, but a perfect heart is one that's not been used. If you don't take your heart out to be beaten up a bit how can you appreciate the one who will come alone and heal it, put all the pieces back together? The bible says there is no fear in love-perfect love drives out fear. If you have love then everything else is nothing. Any obstacles or hindrances or supposed fears should mean nothing. God will take care of them and sort them out. That, my friends, is why they say true love conquers all... because it does. Pure love is just as the bible describes it: not boastful, not self-serving, fearless, patient, kind. John Lennon was right, it's all we need. I know I've started repeating myself, but this subject is always on my mind. Thanks for bearing with me for this little stream of consciousness. Love everyone and if it seems hopeless... don't give up. That's what love is, not giving up when the "skies get rough."

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Leslie Groeneveld, author. Yes, that's me. I hope one day to be published. I speak in movie quotes. I like to drive fast. I have an unnervingly great memory. I believe chocolate can cure anything. I know more about Disney than probably any normal person should.